In the news

December 21, 2024 9 pm

On Saturday 21st December at 21.00hrs the Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team was contacted by Cumbria Police regarding a report of two men who were in a tent, wet and cold after they had failed to find the Priest Hole on Dove Crag in the Hartsop Valley.  

The Duty Leader contacted the couple and established their exact location by phone-find technology and called the Team out to go and locate the pair.  

The weather that day had been very windy and wet and was set to continue for the next 24 hours and turn to snow so it was deemed necessary to locate the couple and escort them down off the hill to safety.  Eight Team Members made their way on foot in poor conditions ascending to the side of Dove Crag where they found the two men and assisted them back down to the valley bottom and the Team Land Rovers.  

The men had travelled a good distance to the area by car earlier that day with the intention of walking up and staying overnight in the Priest Hole. Unfortunately, due to the time of day when they set off and darkness falling, they did not manage to locate it successfully and decided to pitch their tent in the worsening weather. As the night wore on they decided to phone for help.  

Nine Team Members were involved in the incident which lasted 4 hours in total.